The production of radioisotopes by means of medium or low energy irradiation (5-30 MeV) for medical uses has been know for years. Radioisotopes find several and important industrial and scientific applications. The most important application is their use as tracers: radiopharmaceuticals, whose administration in humans may allow to diagnose and monitor a therapy by means of Positron Emission Tomography (PET), particularly for tumours, are synthesised by means of reactions with appropriate non-radioactive precursors. By measuring the irradiation, it is also possible to follow all the transformations of the element and/or the molecule it is bound to, which is useful in chemistry (study of reaction mechanisms), in biology (study of metabolism genetics) and, as mentioned above, in medicine for diagnostic and therapeutic uses.
The known systems provide that the target once arranged on the target-holder is placed in the irradiation station and that once the irradiation operation is ended, the target-holder is dissolved with the irradiated target and, subsequently, removed from the radioisotope produced by means of a purification process.